PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A burglary suspect in Portsmouth was caught in the act by a surveillance camera that was installed just hours before the crime.
It happened at a complex off Gateway Drive and Twin Pines Road. The victim said her fiancé had recently bought the camera and wanted to test it out.
“We were just seeing what it would do and basically what it could do. We put it up just to see if it would work,” Saundra Gay said.
The motion sensing camera was set up in her living room. It did work but how she found out it worked wasn’t ideal.
“My fiancé had contacted me and asked if I was home. He says he set up the Nest camera and it’s detecting motion,” Gay said.
They didn’t know it at the time but a burglar was inside Gay’s apartment.
“He kept going to the door just to see who’s there and kept going back with his flashlight. He had gloves on,” Gay said.
Whoever it was broke in through a window. The camera picked up audio from the moment the suspect was trying to get in.
The suspect was inside for about 10 minutes and stole a PlayStation from the living room. Police came with a K-9 and found another gaming console and games sitting outside on the porch.
“It’s like he set them down probably to come back later,” Gay said. “To me, it feels like I was being watched. It’s just right now, I really don’t feel safe here.”
Later that night, Saundra noticed her PlayStation username was online and someone was playing Grand Theft Auto.
“There is a way we can track my PlayStation, according to the serial number and the IP address where it’s logged into,” Gay said.
She’s hoping police can find the thief so it doesn’t happen to someone else.
“It’s scary. It’s really scary. It doesn’t make me trust this area, this neighborhood,” Gay said.
Gay said she plans to move from the complex because of the incident. If you have any information on who this suspect is, call Portsmouth police.
